Muscat: Clarifying its stand on purchase of All Purpose Vehicles (APV) by expatriates, an official from the Royal Oman Police (ROP) said that there is no such fresh ban on expatriates purchasing APVs though certain regulations have been put in place.

"An expatriate can purchase up to two APVs for his personal purpose. He will not be allowed a third one. In addition to that, he should also give an undertaking at the ROP while registering the vehicle that he will be using the vehicle solely for personal purpose," the ROP official told the Times of Oman.

Recent rumoursRecently, there were rumours doing the rounds that the ROP is refusing to register APVs bought by expatriates. A few expatriates were alleging that automobile showrooms were also refusing to sell APVs to them and even if they buy these, they were finding it difficult to register them with the ROP.

"The APVs registered for personal purpose should be used solely for that. APVs purchased for personal purpose cannot be used for commercial purposes. Using an APV, purchased for personal purpose, commercially, is a violation of law," the official added.

Rule on vehicles is not a new one: ROPMany expatriates who were using APVs purchased for personal use but were using it commercially were fined by the ROP for violation of the law.

According to recent media reports, in a move to control the traffic on the roads in the Sultanate, the ROP also said that an expatriate cannot register more than three private vehicles in his or her name.

"Expatriates are not entitled to register more than three vehicles in their names," the media reported, quoting an ROP official.

Old rule"The rule is an old one, issued by the authority to control the number of vehicles on the roads to reduce traffic. There wouldn't be any restriction on the number of vehicles that can be owned and registered under a company's name in which an expatriate is an investor," the report added.

Meanwhile, according to a bulletin released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), during the first three months of this year, there was an increase of 4.2 per cent in the number of vehicles registered compared to the same period last year in Oman.